Teaching Men to Fish Sustainably

Jacob Sullum | September 22, 2008

Reviewing the track records of 11,135 fisheries over half a century, three researchers conclude in the latest issue of Science that privatization promotes sustainable fishing practices. "Implementation of catch shares halts, and even reverses, the global trend toward widespread collapse," they write. "Institutional change has the potential for greatly altering the future of global fisheries." As The New York Times notes, the findings (which should not surprise anyone familiar with the tragedy of the commons) are consistent with earlier research in this area.

The Reason Foundation (which publishes reason and reason online) explained the advantages of transferable fishing rights in a 2004 paper. reason Science Correspondent Ron Bailey explored the subject in a 2006 column.

[Thanks to Paul Rako for the tip.]